This month, Globe have once again been busily adapting to the government’s coronavirus restrictions, ensuring we keep our staff safe while providing you with the highest level of service.
In recent months we have told you about the importance of having a will in place. We’ve also provided news of our partnership with Twickenham-based will writing service, Penrose Wills, and more specifically with Consultant Solicitor, Kimberley Leigh.
This month, in your Globe IFA team update, we bring you more reflections from our colleagues, Independent Financial Advisors, John and Tom, and Mortgage Advisor, James.
John looks back on a locked-down year
“Looking back on it now, the initial lockdown earlier in the year got off to a good start for me.
“The sun was shining, the weather was warm, and I’d set things up perfectly in my private home office. No aeroplanes were flying into Heathrow over our house, the roads were quiet, and I don’t have two young children to keep entertained.
“To top it all, I even overheard my wife on the phone saying to a friend: “I quite like having John at home.” Not that she mentioned that to me, of course!
“But that was then. Now it’s not so much fun.
“We must have had three inches of rain in Richmond over the last ten days. And the days are getting shorter. There’s no way you’ll find me sitting in the garden now, having convinced myself to have a well-earned break. And Mrs P doesn’t look quite as sad when I tell her I am leaving the house to pop into work.
“Back at the office, which we reopened at the beginning of September, it was great to see colleagues again and enjoy the banter. It’s been good to be back.
“We’ve been able to have meetings with clients in our spacious meeting room while observing social distancing. No one gets in without having their temperature taken and sanitising their hands (including us, by the way).
“Now, however, Covid-19 has fought back, and we have the latest anti-Covid rules. No doubt there’ll be more to come.
“But as Charles Darwin said, “It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” And adapt is certainly what we at Globe have done.
“We remain open for business, thankfully, and will keep on adapting whenever necessary.”
Tom tackles market strategy during the pandemic
“States of lockdown, semi-lockdown, and hardly-any-lockdown at all seem to have filled all of our lives this year. But that hasn’t stopped me from using this period to reflect on many of our core values.
“The most important factor will always be our clients and their needs.
“I ask myself this question: ‘If this client was my mother or father with the same strategy, would I still be happy with the recommendation I gave last year, five years ago, or even ten years ago? If not, what should I change and why?’
“Most of the time the best advice is to do nothing and to remind clients to be patient. Too often I hear people and clients wanting instant returns. Patience is a virtue and tends to reward investors over the longer term.
“And remember these three ideas for successful investing:
- Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing
- Acknowledge that widespread fear is your friend as an investor because it serves up bargain purchases
- The worst investment you can have is cash. Everybody is talking about cash being king and all that sort of thing. Cash is going to become worthless over time, but good businesses are going to become worth more.
Tortoise Trudie has a pre-hibernation MOT
You may recall that back in April’s team update, Trudie emerged from hibernation into a country in lockdown.
A Hermann’s tortoise belonging to Mortgage Advisor, James, Trudie is now gearing up to go back into hibernation. But first, a trip to the vets was in order.
“Tortoises are not particularly high maintenance,” says James, “and Trudie is no exception.”
“It is coming to the end of the season, a time when she hibernates under a mature bush in the back garden. But before she disappears, to be seen again in April, we took her to the vet for a check-up. “She does not look forward to this as the protocol for the worming process is that she is dangled by her head so that a tube can be inserted into her stomach
“To her credit, she did not hiss and got a clean bill of health.
“She weighs 2.5 kg which is good for a 20-year-old.”
